Manufacture of cords



1953 c. J. GONSALVES 2,847,817

MANUFACTURE OF CORDS Filed March 16, 1955 2 Shets-Sheet 1 INVENT OR ATTORNEY 1958 c. J. GONSALVES 2,847,817

MANUFACTURE OF CORDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 16, 1955 INVENTOR 9 30 [bill'ddc/QYW dmmli/es BY WM E7 United States Patent MANUFACTURE OF CORDS Conrad Joseph Gonsalves, Arnhem, Netherlands, as-

signor to American Enka Corporation, Enka, N. C., a corporation of Delaware Application March 16, 1955, Serial No. 494,746

Claims priority, application Netherlands April 1, 1954 10 Claims. (Cl. 57--62) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the manufacture of cords from twisted thread elements.

In the manufacture of cord, it is known to begin by winding two individual thread elements, which are twisted in the same direction, in parallel onto a bobbin and then to reel off these elements overhead in a ballooning manner from a twisting bobbin while plying them together in a direction opposite to the direction in which the individual elements were twisted. In the commercial use of this type of operation, which has the advantage of being very simple from the point of view of equipment required, it has been found that there is a tendency for the cording point to migrate toward the point where the threads are reeled off the package Which results in the production of nonuniform cord. Furthervmore, since the strength of the cord is somewhat proportional to the tension under which it is formed, and since the tensions that are possible to use with the above de- :scribed method are low, it has not been possible heretofore to produce cords of maximum strength per unit denier.

It is therefore an object of this invention to overcome It is proposed according to the present invention seplarately to tension the thread elements after they are withdrawn from the package and before they are plied together to form a cord and then to draw off the cord under tension.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the embodiment thereof in conjunction with the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary view in side elevation of an assembly including the top of a twister bobbin, a drawotf device and the tensioning device of the present invention associated therewith;

Figure 2 is a view in elevation of the tensioning device of the present invention as viewed 90 away from the point of view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view in vertical section through the device of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the device of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view from the same position as is shown in Figure 1 but to an enlarged scale whereby to show the cording of the thread elements.

In the drawings the reference numeral 1 indicates a twisting bobbin on which two threads 2a and 2b are Wound together in parallel. The two threads 2a and 2b are twisted to the same degree and in the same direction.

The twisting bobbin l is mounted on a spindle 3, see Figure 3, which is positively driven in any known manner by means not shown. The spindle 3 has at its upper end a coaxially extending integral portion 4 on which there is located a sleeve 5 which is fastened in position by set screws 6. The sleeve 5 has at its upper end an externally frusto-conical head 7 from which there projects upwardly a coaxially located integral spindle 8. In Figure 3 the sleeve 5 and its head 7 with. the projecting spindle 3 are indicated as being machined apart from the spindle 3. It is, of course, possible to make the parts 5, 7 and 8 integral with spindle 3, if convenient.

Freely coaxially surrounding the spindle 8 there is located a body 9. The underside of the body 9 has a frustoconical cavity in it complementary to and fitting over the frusto-conical portion 7 of the sleeve 5. The body 9 has, near its lower end, an enlarged annular portion from which there projects an arm 10, see Figure 2, which has a threaded guide 11 at its unsupported end. The arm functions as a flyer in the twisting system and it is subject to being pivoted about a pivot pin 12 by the action of the yarn on the outer end thereof. In order that the magnitude of the pivoting action may be limited, the inner or supported end of the arm 10 is connected to or made integral with a triangular abutment 13 which acts against a face 13a machined in the body 9 whereby to limit the pivotal movement of the yarn about the pin 12. The lowermost position of the flyer 101 locates the thread guiding eye 11 close to the bobbin 1 and it is this position which is shown in the broken lines in Figure 2. The full-line position in Figure 2 is shown also in Figure l where the arm 10 extends straight out toward the viewer.

Near the top of the body 9 there is located a thread guiding rod 14, which is located in a socket in the body and there held both axially and circumferentially by a set screw 15. The rod 14 lies in a plane passing through the center line of the body 9 and it lies directly above and in the same radius as the arm 10, see Figure 1. On the outer surface of the body 9 there are located 180 apart and on each side of the rod 14 sets of pro jecting studs or brake rods 16a to 2011* and 16b to 2015, these elements together defining, on opposite sides of the body 9, a tortuous passageway for each thread element. The rods 18a, 19a, 18b and 19]; are secured at the ends of a cylindrical body 21 which passes diametrically through the body 9 and is held in position by set screw 22. By releasing the set screw 22 and rotating the body 21 the degree of tension imparted by the rods 18a; 19a, 18b and 19b is rendered adjustable.

Since the body 9 is hollow and contains interior working parts, its upper end is covered by a steel plate 23, the edges of which overlap the body above the brake rods 29a and 20b.

The body 9 is retained on the spindle 8 by means of two claws 24a and 24b provided at the respective ends of levers 25a and 25b. The levers 25a and 25b are pivoted on pins 26a and 26b and surrounding the pivot pin 26b there is a spring 27 which biases the lever 25b for counterclockwise movement as it is viewed in Fig ure 3. For convenience of illustration the spring associated with the pin 26a is not shown but that spring is so located as to bias the lever 25a in a clockwise direc tion as it is viewed in Figure 3. The springs 27, therefore, bias the claws toward the spindle 8. The spindle has a portion 28 of reduced cross-section and this portion receives the claws 24a and 24b. The body 9 has two counterweights 29 and 30 to stabilize its rotational characteristics.

A draw-ofi device. comprised of triple rollers 31, 32 and 33 is located axially above the upper end of the body 9. In the thread path beyond the triple rollers there is located a winding bobbin 34 which is surface driven by a roller 35.

To set into operation the device just described, several steps are taken before the machines are started. Before the spindle 3 is caused to rotate threads 2a and 2b are drawn olf the bobbin 1 by hand and given a number of turns around each other in their run between the place where they leave the surface of the wound body and the'guide 11. They are passed through the guide 11 of the flyer 10 and then separately guided on opposite sides of the'rod 14, see Figure 4. One of the thread elements is passed among the brake rods 16a to 20a, inclusive, and the other is passed among brake rods tee to 2012, inclusive, in each case a tortuous pathway being defined as can be seen in Figure 2. From the body 9 the threads 2a and 2b are'led together at the plying point P, see Figure 5. Above this they are led to the take-up rollers and to the bobbin 34-as can be seen in Figure 1. Once the threading-in just described has been accomplished, the spindle 3 is actuated as are the rollers 31 to 33 inc1usive and the bobbin driven roller 35.

At the start of the rotation of the bobbin the flyer 10 is in the broken line position of Figure 2, a position which it naturally assumes by the action of gravity when it is under the influence of neither the ballooning thread nor centrifugal force. In the lower position the eye 11 offers minimum frictional resistance to the threads. As the spindle 3 accelerates in angular displacement, a balloon is formed by the threads 2a and 2b and this balloon lifts the flyer 10 until the latter assumes the full line position of Figure 2. The height of the flyer above the bobbin is so selected that the balloon forms in a natural way which is compatible with the full line, Figure 2, position of flyer 10.

During the starting of the bobbin the body 9 is in its lowermost position as shown in Figure 3. Under these circumstances, its lower conical surface fitting over the conical part 7 establishes a direct drive from the spindle 3. On the other hand, the body 9 is mounted for free rotation about the part 7 and the spindle 8 so that during operation body 9 is lifted from the conical surface 7 and its rotation is effected entirely by means of the flyer 10 which is taken along by the threads during the ballooning. This means that the body 9 rotate in entire synchronism with the balloon formed by the threads 2a and 2b. The upward movement of the body 9 is limited by the claws 24 acting in the groove 28. Due to the rotation of the body 9, the thread elements 2a and 2b are plied at the point P, see Figure 5, for the formation of a cord which is drawn upwardly by the triple rollers 31 to 33 inclusive under desirable conditions of tension. It will be appreciated that the tension created in the cordexists between the triple rollers and the brake rods. The absolute value of tension is, of course, dependent upon the degree of encirclement of the brake rods by the threads which is adjustable from the cylinder 21.

The tension in the threads before the plying point P should be quite high. When manufacturing a cord from two viscose rayon threads of 1650 denier, this tension amounts to one to two kilograms per thread depending somewhat upon the normal finish given to the threat The tension should be so high that at the point P the threads come together at an angle almost twice the twisting angle of the threads in the cord.

It is to be noted that the uppermost brake rods 20a and 20b are so located that both threads leave the body 9 in a plane normal to the vertical center line of the body and normal to the plane of the flyer 10. As shown in Figure l, the cord runs in the direction of the axis of the body 9 tangentially onto roller 31. If the take-up surface of the first of the triple rollers were not in axial alignment with the plying point it would be necessary that the thread be guided in axial alignment with that point for some distance beyond it. The combination of the triple rollers 31 to 33 and the winding device may,

of course, be replaced by a draw-off mechanism which is itself a winding device.

It is to be noted that the body 9 can be removed from the spindle 8 by releasing the claws 24a and 24b manually. Instead of twisting together the threads before the body 9, this twist being maintained during operation of the device and insuring that shifting of the threads relative to each other not take place, it is possible in order to prevent this shifting to make both threads adhere to each other when being Wound on the bobbin 1.

What is claimed is:

l. A method for the manufacture of cord from a pair of thread elements twisted in the same direction and wound in a body in parallel relationship that comprises rotating the body while drawing off said thread elements together in the form of a balloon which is coaxial with the axis of rotation of said body, separating the said thread elements issuing from the balloon, separately ten.- sioning each of said elements by passage through separate tensioning devices and thereafter recombiningthe same at a plying point.

2. A method for the manufacture of cord from a pair of thread elements twisted in the same direction and wound in a body in parallel relationship that comprises initially manually twisting together a short length of 'the' elements adjacent to the body, leading lengths of the elements more remote from the body than the short twisted lengths to a draw-off point, drawing off the elements from said draw-off point while forming a balloon by rotating said body, separately tensioning each of said elements by passage through separate tensioning devices and thereafter recombining said elements between said balloon and said draw-ofi" point. I

3. Apparatus for forminga cord from two thread elements twisted in the same direction and wound in parallel relationship on a bobbin that comprises a rotatable spindle to support and rotate said bobbin, a draw-01f device, means mounted on said spindle coaxially there above having thereon elements defining a separatetem' sion path for each of said thread elements, means for driving said spindle mounted means from said spindle, and balloon responsive means for releasing said driving means at a predetermined balloon pressure and for'substituting a drive by the ballooning thread elements.

4-. Apparatus for forming a cord from two thread elements twisted in the same direction and wound in parallel relationship on a bobbin that comprises a rotatable spindle to support and rotate said bobbin, a draw-off device, a device mounted on said spindle for rotation thereabout, means on said spindle mounted device for separately tensioning the thread elements, and

a balloon flyer connected to said device to drive the same' from the ballooning thread.

5. Apparatus for forming a cord from two thread elements twisted in the same direction and wound in parallel" relationship on a bobbin that comprises a rotatablespindle to support and rotate said bobbin, a draw-01f device axially above the axis oft-rotation of the bobbin, a device mounted on said spindle for rotation thereabout, adjustable means on said spindle device for separately tensioning the thread elements, and a balloon flyer connected to said device to drive the same from the ballooning thread.

6. Apparatus for forming a cord from two thread elements twisted in the same direction and wound in parallel relationship on a bobbin that comprises a rotatable spindle to support and rotate said bobbin, means including a draw-off devioe defining a thread path that extends axially above the axis of rotation of the bobbin, a

device mounted on said spindle for rotation thereabout, thread element dividing means mounted on said spindle,

device carried means on opposite sides of said dividing.

7. Apparatus for forming a cord from two thread elements twisted in the same direction and wound in parallel relationship on a bobbin that comprises a rotatable spindle to support and rotate said bobbin, means including a draw-off device defining a thread path that extends coaxially above the spindle axis, a device mounted on said spindle for rotation thereabout, a balloon flyer extending radially from said device and pivoted thereto at its inner end, and separate thread element tensioning means on said device lying 90 away from the radial plane of the flyer on opposite sides thereof.

8. Apparatus for forming a cord from two thread elements twisted in the same direction and wound in parallel relationship on a bobbin that comprises a rotatable spindle to support and rotate said bobbin, means including a draw-0E device defining a thread path coaxially above the spindle axis, a device mounted on said spindle for rotation thereabout and for limited relative axial movement with respect thereto, means on said spindle mounted device for separately tensioning the thread elements, and a balloon flyer connected to said device to drive the same from the ballooning thread.

9. Apparatus for forming a cord from two thread elements twisted in the same direction and wound in parallel relationship on a bobbin that comprises a rotatable spindle to support and rotate said bobbin, means including a draw-ofi device defining a thread path coaxially above the spindle axis, a device detachably mounted on said spindle for rotation thereabout and for limited relative axial movement with respect thereto, means on said spindle mounted device for separately tensioning each thread element, and a balloon flyer connected to said device the same from the ballooning thread.

10. Apparatus for forming a cord from two thread elements twisted in the same direction and Wound in parallel relationship on a bobbin that comprises a rotatable spindle to support and rotate said bobbin, means including a draw-ofi device defining a thread path coaxially above the spindle axis, a device having thereon means providing for two separate tortuous thread passageways, said device being coaxially mounted over said spindle for rotation about a portion thereof, spring urged claws carried by said device and acting releasably to hold said device on said spindle and to limit the relative axial movement between the device and spindle, and a balloon flyer connected to said device to drive the same from the ballooning thread.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,117,940 Boyd Nov. 17, 1914 2,017,498 Herr Oct. 15, 1935 2,074,096 Suydam Mar. 16, 1937 2,346,358 Busse Apr. 11, 1944 2,365,661 Winslow Dec. 19, 1944 2,371,939 Winslow Mar. 20, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 510,590 France Sept. 9, 1920 

